This invention is in the field of electric hair dryers and blowers, and particularly portable hand-held type hair dryers wherein a light-weight housing contains an electric motor, a fan or blower, and a heating element.
In the field of hand-held hair dryers three common types include the pistol grip, styler-dryer, and axial flow. The pistol grip dryer has a pistol type handle, typically a centrifugal fan, and an air discharge tube generally at a right angle relative to the handle; the styler-dryer or vane-axial type has a blower shaped generally as a cylinder or squirrel cage comprising vanes positioned parallel to the axis of rotation, an adjacent discharge duct having length and width about the same as that of the blower, and a handle also parallel to the blower axis; and the axial-flow has a generally straight tubular shape, wherein one end serves as a handle, the opposite end serves as a discharge duct, a fan is situated in the tube near its mid-point for forcing air, entering at side vents to flow through the tube to exit its discharge end.
In each of these devices it was sought to provide certain advantages or novelty, and each has specific structure for such purpose. The pistol grip, for example, is the type frequently used by professional hair stylists, and has a gun barrel type discharge duct for providing an accurately directed and powerful air flow as the stylist points the duct at the customer's hair. The styler-dryer type is especially convenient for a user to dry her or his own hair, because the handle and blower portions comprise a single oblong construction; accordingly the handle may be held in a natural and comfortable, generally vertical position, while the air discharge portion is oriented to direct air at a right angle relative to the handle; the rather large cross-sectional area of the discharge duct will produce a similar broad air flow for effective drying without requiring accurate direction of the air to a precise location.
In the axial or through-flow type of dryer, the brush attachment has a central core which extends coaxially with the tube's handle and discharge duct, but has transversely extending bristles. The heated air from the blower flows axially through the attachment core and transversely out discharge apertures adjacent to the bristles. With this construction it is feasible to rotate the dryer such that hair will curl around the brush and hot air will then flow radially outward through the curls.
In each of the above-described types of hair dryers, there is a specific structure designed for a certain purpose, and consequently limited to such purpose. Furthermore, these dryers comprise an essentially fixed construction, wherein a rigid housing has a motor, blower, and heater in predetermined locations, with no possibility of moving or altering them, and not even a remote suggestion that such was contemplated. More particularly, in each of these devices the heater is mounted in or near a discharge portion of the housing, and the motor and fan are mounted in an adjacent portion of the housing with the result that housing, components, and air flow have a predetermined and fixed relationship.
The subject matter of the present invention is a new hairdryer, with a structural concept totally different from the above-described, typical prior art devices. The objective here is to provide flexibility and choice of function or method of drying, by providing a changable or variable structure. More specifically, this invention is first, a piston grip hair dryer, which may be modified to be an axial-flow type, and then to a styler-dryer type. A summary of the invention follows, and then a description of the drawings illustrating the preferred embodiment of this invention.